castilla | Treading in the Deep End

The Second Procession

After the first procession I saw, Isabel and I headed for a quick dinner with her friends. We went to a bar where we ate a bunch of tapas, and only paid five euro each person. The next procession was due to begin at 12:00 midnight, and only one of Isa’s friends was strong enough to brave it with us. This procession was to end at the Plaza de Santa Lucía, where the brothers would then sing. This is one of Isa’s favorite processions, and so far it has been my favorite as well.

We arrived a little bit after 11, and already the standing room in the plaza was becoming full. A few feet was left between some plastic yellow fences and the walls, leaving the rest of the space open for the procession. Even at 11, we were lucky to find a spot in the front line. We made our own line across the opening of a street. It turned out to be the best possible place to watch the entrance of the procession.

Hermandad Penitencial del Santísimo Cristo de la Buena Muerte

We knew we had a long, cold wait ahead of us, and had prepared by buying pipas (unshelled sunflower seeds) to snack on. It is a traditional way to pass the time while waiting during Semana Santa. The procession finally reached us at 1 am. With silence from the crowd, each brother entered quietly with his head down, wearing tan robes and sandals, and carrying a large candle. Some of the men walked barefoot, whereas those who carried Jesus wore black leather loafers or boots. Four or five photographers ran and crouched in front of us to photograph the procession as it ambled toward the plaza. All but one was shooed away to make space for their entrance, and he was the one who shot me a look of sympathy when the battery in my camera died. The entrance of the procession had just arrived and the singing had not yet begun! Such was my luck!

(Earlier in the night I had seen that I had three out of four bars of battery, and it was not until my camera did the same thing a few nights later that I realized my battery might not have been dead after all. If I had fiddled with it a bit more, I might have been able to bring it back to life.)

The brothers carried in a image of Jesus on the cross, tilted at about a thirty degree angle. It was made in 1585 and is attributed to Ruiz de Zumeta. While the other cofrades lined the plaza, the men carried Jesus to the center, where fifteen men began to sing their haunting song, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem.” (You can see a youtube video here). When the finished, a torrent of black-clothed photographers was unleashed to move about the plaza. The brothers then continued with another song, and then sang as the entire procession left the plaza.

It was late, it was cold, but it sure was worth it!